Day 2 1-24-12

I woke up this morning had breakfast and ironed my clothes to meet with the attorney. I began looking for my bag that I packed anti malarial pills, medication for potential stomach problems (parasites) and mosquito spray. After looking everywhere I realized that I had packed it in Miami and it was probably taken out of my bag at the airport. I am guessing that someone needed that more than I did and will borrow spray at the orphanage and be careful what I eat for the rest of my stay.

Today was an overwhelming and eventful day filled with a lot of meetings throughout Port Au Prince. Breakfast consisted of hot dogs and hard boiled eggs (together), grits, nutella and the most important part of the meal mango!! We left the orphanage around 8:3o with a translator and headed to our first of many stops. The purpose for traveling today was to meet with our attorney and get an update on the adoption process. We also made numerous stops along the way at government organizations to get needed documentation signed to give the attorney. We were lost numerous times and at one time picked a Haitin up to give us directions. This is not recomended and was a little nervoust about the process. After what seemed like an hour we eventually arrived at our destination and ended up at the first building we stopped at when we began the trip. I learned a lot of things today the biggest one was the differences between how America handles business and the way Haitians do business. Our translator was "connected" with the officials in the government and could make things happen but need us as Americans to actually get anything done.

As I traveled throughout Port Au Prince and the outlying cities it was obvious that the clean up efforts were still behind. If you did not see pictures of before and after the earthquake it would be difficult to tell the difference because the country as a whole is extremely poor. There were times today when we stopped that Haitians ran to the vehicle selling drinks, shoes, phone chargers and food. The most uncomfortable part of the day would be when the vehicle came to a complete stop and indiviuals knocking on my window with their hands out wanting money. We made another stop downtown close to the presidential palace and I cannot explain the emotions and feelings that I have from seeing the constant struggle to survive daily. Everytime I am here I am constantly reminded about how blessed we are to live in a country where even the hungry get to eat something!

We eventually made it to the attorney and found out that he had called in sick today! I was immediately crushed by the news because of the distance traveled and the lack of oportunity to meet again soon. His assistant was there to meet with me and answered many unaswered questions we had about the process. I now have a clear idea on what needs to happen next and a to do list for when I return.

After meeting with the attorney we began the long drive home through rush hour traffic where cars drive four lanes wide on a two lane street. We drove through Cite Soleil one of the most dangerous and poorest areas of Haiti. There were a lot of street vendors and selling items and the market was busy with people buying produce. I rolled the window down to take pictures and the smell of rotten fruit, vegetables and sewer overwhelmed the car. The pictures posted later will give you an idea of what it looks like.

After arriving back at the orphanage and sanitizing our hands and shoes, I was met by Pastor Seide and Wisbens dad. I spent time talking with him about Wisbens and asked questions about the last ten years of his life, his likes and dislikes, and any medical concerns the family has experienced. It was a good conversation and I look forward to sharing more about our meeting when I return.

We had dinner at 5:00 and had turkey (I think) pasta with chicken and salad. After dinner I walked down to hang out with the kids an catch up on their day. I was immediately met by Wisbens and 4 other boys asking for my phone to play spider man. I had the opportunity to talk with the kids about how they are currently doing and check in on their status. The night ended with a skype session with Jen and Maddox (I miss you!!) and the discussion of possibly talking to Wisbens tomorrow about the adoption. If I do not talk to him this visit we are still going to skype Jen and Maddox for them to officially meet.